Think we can't live without plastic? Think again. In 2007 I committed to stop buying any new plastic & I've almost succeeded! Won't you join me? Let's see what plastic-free looks like today… for the health of our bodies, our oceans, our planet. ~Beth Terry

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Category Archives: babies, children, toys

Since I’m not a mom myself, I rely on the wisdom of other parents who are working to reduce plastic in their families’ lives. Cloth diapering is one way to cut down on the amount of plastic contacting your baby’s skin and ending up in landfills or incinerators. Here are a couple of guest posts: one is about a cloth diaper event coming up this month, and the other is about a project to donate cloth diapers to families in need.

The Great Cloth Diaper Change

by Janice Roodsari of Momma Words

Have you heard about the Great Cloth Diaper Change? All around the world people are learning about how using simple, reusable, cloth diapers can make a BIG impact on a family’s finances, environmental waste and pollution, as well as the health of your baby. To help spread the word about the benefits of cloth diapering, an event called The Great Cloth Diaper Change was dreamed up and the Real Diaper Association turned this dream into a reality.

Summer is not yet over, so there’s still time to squeeze in a post about Life Without Plastic’s new Freezycup stainless steel popsicle molds. (Of course, there’s no rule that says popsicles can only be eaten in the summer anyway.)

But before I talk about this new mold, let me back up a bit. Two years ago, I reviewed the stainless steel popsicle mold from Onyx Containers. Many of us were excited about it because it was a great alternative to plastic or silicone. But, as I mentioned in that review, there were drawbacks. First, the steel stand that held the molds was coated in polyethylene plastic, plastic which actually was peeling a little bit on the one I received. I wasn’t crazy about that aspect of the design, but I was happy that the molds themselves contained no plastic.

What I didn’t know then was that one of my favorite companies — Life Without Plastic — had had a stainless steel popsicle mold… Read the rest

My belief is that there’s enough material in existence in the world that we could probably freeze all new production effective immediately and just get more creative with what’s already out there. –Josh Title, owner of the Cate & Levi Collection toy company.

When I heard Josh say those words in his video about his toy company, I just wanted to hug him. But he’s in Canada. So consider this blog post a virtual hug. I don’t have kids, but I’m always on the lookout for great plastic-free toys for those of you who do. Toys made from natural materials are great, but they still have an environmental impact. So I was excited to find out about Cate & Levi toys made in Canada from recycled wool sweaters. Because the materials are secondhand, each toy is not only eco-friendly, but one of a kind. Josh sent me a box of hand puppets to check out. How cute are they?

Ah, the seasonal aisle. It’s always full of some kind of plastic. This time of year, we’re confronted by walls of brightly (some would say garishly) colored plastic Easter eggs, and bunnies, and baskets, and plastic grass, and all that stuff. Because what’s a holiday without plastic, right?

After running into the plastic egg wall at CVS and having the expected freak out, I started remembering all the fun I had as a kid, hunting for those plastic eggs with their little surprises inside. Sure, we dyed real eggs too. But the plastic ones held secret treasures! Then, as I was walking home reminiscing, I passed a local thrift store in my neighborhood, and what did I spy through the window? Secondhand plastic Easter eggs!

And more plastic Easter eggs…

And further down the street, another thrift shop had them too, as well as Easter baskets.

I thought I’d found the perfect Easter solution for folks who have kids and who really… Read the rest

Julia Smith’s first grade class at Rooftop Alternative School, perched high up in San Francisco’s Twin Peaks area, is different from most, and Julia Smith is a special kind of teacher.

For example, in an effort to teach the children how to choose plastic-free grocery options, she actually took them on a field trip to Whole Foods to learn how to bring their own bags and containers to shop from bulk bins. After a lesson about the problems of ocean plastic pollution, the class participated in the Show Your Plastic Trash Challenge to collect and tally their classroom-generated plastic waste for a week.

Check the Challenge site to see the full results from their week of plastic collecting and read more about what they learned. Last week, I visited the classroom to pick up the plastic they had collected and chat with the kids about the plastic I had found on the beach and find out what they had decided to do about their classroom waste.

Last month, Fake Plastic Fish reader Alanna sent me a link to a very cool new stainless steel lunch option. PlanetBox, a company created just this year, has designed a lunch box that is airtight and has compartments for all the different foods you might want to pack. And unlike Bentology/Laptop Lunches, which I have never promoted because they are made from plastic, the PlanetBox container is plastic-free.

I asked the owner, Caroline Miros (who happens to also live in the Bay Area) about the materials in the lunch box, and here is what she told me:

Our PlanetBox lunch box is made out of high quality stainless steel – no plastic.
Each PlanetBox comes with a set of magnets that are made out of synthetic rubber, but not PVC (the standard for thin flexible magnets). We had to look long and hard for a supplier that did not use PVC and found one in Asia that sold to the European Markets (with their smarter, tougher standards.) So the magnets… Read the rest

The following is a guest post by blogger Amber Strocel who contends with child-related plastic. She’s found quite a few plastic-free alternatives and would like to hear your suggestions for ways to further reduce.

I’m Amber, and I’m a married mom living in Metro Vancouver, Canada. I am a big fan of Fake Plastic Fish, so I am very excited to write a guest post! You can normally find me on my own blog at Strocel.com where I write a lot about my life in the suburbs with my two beautiful children. My daughter Hannah is four years old, and baby Jacob is 9 months. They are the light of my life, the source of great joy, the apple of my eye. All that good stuff. They also use a lot of plastic. Potty chairs, car seats, baby bathtubs, dishes, toys, the list is more than a little overwhelming.

I’ve always been environmentally conscious, or at least moderately so. I didn’t have many concerns with plastic in particular, though, until April … Read the rest

Read the book…

Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too is your illustrated, practical guide to living with less plastic, updated with new chapter and foreword by musician Jack Johnson. Click here to learn more.